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Williams Alum Kirshe Leads U.S. Rugby to Olympic Semi-Finals

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Williams College alum Kristi Kirshe and the U.S. women's rugby sevens team are one win away from securing a medal at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France.
 
On Monday afternoon (EDT), the Eagles came from behind to beat Great Britain, 17-7, in the Olympic quarter-finals.
 
And Kirshe was key in the win.
 
Great Britain, which eliminated the Americans at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, took a 7-0 lead early and led, 7-5, at half-time.
 
But Kirshe scored a try off the second-half restart to give the Eagles a 10-7 lead, and the conversion made it 12-7.
 
Then, Kirshe assited on Sammy Sullivan's try to stretch the lead to 10 points.
 
NBC commentator Rupert Cox called it, "the performance of [Kirshe's] life in an Olympic quarter-final."
 
Cox noted that Kirshe, who graduated from Williams in 2017, took up rugby after graduation while working in Boston. The Franklin, Mass., native was an all-America selection in women's soccer while at Williams. 
 
Team USA, which started its Monday with a loss to host France in the conclusion of pool play, advances to Tuesday's 9:30 a.m. (EDT) Olympic semi-final against New Zealond, a 55-5 winner over China in the quarters on Monday.
 
The Bronze medal and Gold medal matches are scheduled for 1 p.m. and 1:45, respectively, on Tuesday.
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The Bow Wow Bus Has Launched

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff

Greylock Canine Club owner Pete Umbrianna and his dog Quinn wait for the rest of the pack.
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Greylock Canine Club's Bow Wow Bus took its inaugural field trip Friday morning to the Spruces.
 
"It just gives the dogs a change of scenery," Greylock Canine Club owner Pete Umbrianna said, holding back his dog Quinn and her walking mate Lemon. "They have a beautiful big play area, but it is nice for them to see different things. And it is a socialization thing."
 
Greylock Canine Club, a dog day-care at 1099 New Ashford Road, refurbished an old school bus to transport dogs. The seats are fastened with special hooks to keep the dogs stable but allow them the flexibility to look out the window. The bus even has a working "dogs loading sign" that flips off the side of the bus.
 
The bus rolled into the Spruces around 10 a.m. Friday morning. Instead of children's limbs hanging out the windows, snouts poked out.
 
Greylock Canine Club Manager and bus driver Molly Smith said the ride went well.
 
"It was easy," she said. "We did it one by one."
 
Employee Nolan Gageant said, like any excited student on the day of a field trip, the dogs knew it wasn't a normal day.
 
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